UMC 2018

Deep-Sea Mining: Challenges of Going Further and Deeper
Advances in Marine Research and Subsea Technology Beyond Oil and Gas

UMC 2018 Bergen image of Grieghallen courtesy of Eilif Stene

47th Underwater Mining Conference
September 10 through 14, 2018
Grieghallen
Bergen, Norway

Provisional Program (as of 07 Sep 2018)

We are excited to be convening the Underwater Mining Conference 2018 early this September in Bergen. Click here for the Program Summary. Click here for the Program, including a List of Presentations.

Calling All Students!

For the first time, the IMMS Executive Board and UMC 2018 Hosts will give awards for Best Student Abstract and Best Student Presentation for the Underwater Mining Conference in Bergen, Norway this year. A small panel of judges will be composed of IMMS Executive Board members as well as representatives from the UMC 2018 hosting organizations, K.G. Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research at the University of Bergen and Global Centres of Expertise (GCE Subsea). Abstracts will be judged before the conference, and the winning student will be awarded a registration waiver for UMC 2018. Presentations will be judged during the technical sessions at UMC 2018 in Bergen, and the winning student will be awarded a registration waiver for UMC 2019. Both winners will be announced at the IMMS Annual General Meeting.

Submit your abstract by June 8, 2018 and inform the UMC conference coordinator (Karynne Morgan) in your submission email that you would like to be considered for either or both student awards (if you have already submitted your abstract, please let Karynne know).

We look forward to your submissions and the opportunity to highlight the hard work of students in the marine mining community!

New UMC 2018 Features

UMC Keynote Speaker

The K.G. Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research (UiBergen) will feature three keynote speakers (updated
09-04-18):

Ingvil Smines Tybring-Gjedde, State Secretary, Norway. The Secretary will open the UMC with a presentation on Resource Management of Seabed Minerals on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Professor Nobuyuki Okamoto, Deputy Director General, Marine Mining Technology Department, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), will present World‘s First Lifting Test for Polymetallic Sulphides in the EEZ of Japan.
Dr. Harald Brekke, Vice Chair of the Legal and Technical Commission, International Seabed Authority and Senior Geologist, Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, will present ISA draft regulation for exploitation.

UMC Law of the Sea Session

The K.G. Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research (UiBergen) and its partner, The K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea (University of Tromsø or UiT), will present a session in Law of the Sea on matters that relate to the regulation of sea mining operations.

Professor Tore Henriksen will moderate the session. The following speakers will be featured:

Dr. Harald Brekke, Vice Chair of the Legal and Technical Commission, International Seabed Authority, will present ISA Draft Regulations for Exploitation.
Professor Maria das Neves, Faculty of Law, University of Tromsø, will present Deep-sea Mining: Intersections with Other Activities.

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Welcome

UMC2018 Bergen image The 47th Underwater Mining Conference is presented by the International Marine Minerals Society in partnership with the K.G. Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research at the University of Bergen and Global Centres of Expertise Subsea (GCE Subsea).

We will continue the well-tested format of the conference, which brings together world leaders from government, academia and industry to exchange information and ideas on underwater mining.

In 2018, we will strategically harvest the current marine R&D knowledge and bring it forward into the prospective developments of subsea solutions for deep sea mining beyond oil and gas.

The University of Bergen (UiB) has a background in deep ocean research that dates back the “The Northern Ocean Expedition” in 1876–1878. The track record includes pioneering oceanographic and marine biological studies, geophysical surveys, and today’s ongoing scientific exploration with remotely controlled and autonomous underwater vehicles. Norway has been pivotal in subsea innovative approaches, with the Bergen area collectively working as a global knowledge hub by hosting excellent deep-sea marine research and a cluster of 100+ R&D and industrial partners (GCE Subsea).

We welcome presentations from key players in deep sea mining prospective activities such as researchers, ISA nation contractors, sub-sea technology partners, and other sectors of timely interest in marine minerals.

Our 2018 technical program focuses on the scientific and technological aspects of deep-sea mining. It will be an exciting conference for the examination of the next commercial and technical developments regarding deep-sea minerals, deep-sea mining and metallurgical processing of marine mineral resources.

UMC 2018 will involve a welcoming reception, two days of technical sessions, a spouses’ day tour, and a geotechnical field tour. Several hotels within walking distance to the famed Grieghallen conference venue will be available to conference participants at special rates. More details will be updated to the website very soon.

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Key Deadlines

Call for Papers Abstract Deadline: June 8, 2018
Deadline for Student Abstracts: June 8, 2018
Hotel Reservations Deadline: June 30, 2018
Conference Early Registration Deadline: July 31, 2018. If registering after that date, a late fee of $50 will be added. Advance registration is strongly recommended by August 30, 2018.